Best storyline: It’s hard to choose anything other than the potential Kansas-North Carolina showdown that could take place with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line. The idea of Tar Heels coach Roy Williams coaching against his former team in the NCAA Tournament is mesmerizing; he famously wore a Kansas sticker on his shirt while watching the 2008 national championship game, shortly after the Jayhawks had knocked off his Tar Heels in the Final Four. Plus, that game would be an excellent on-court matchup, too, with a confident North Carolina team taking on a Kansas squad that might be more talented but has had confidence issues this season.

Best Round of 64 game: No. 5 VCU vs. No. 12 Akron. VCU coach Shaka Smart is a former assistant for Akron coach Keith Dambrot, which means the Zips will have an intimate knowledge of how to handle Smart’s complex system of high-pressure pressing. But, Akron is without point guard Alex Abreu, who was suspended indefinitely for an arrest on marijuana trafficking. Trying to deal with VCU’s havoc is tough enough when at full strength, and nearly impossible with backups. Of course, Dambrot’s knowledge could help level that playing field.

Upset special:No. 11 Minnesota over No. 6 UCLA. The Bruins can struggle against big, physical teams and nobody’s bigger or more physical than the Golden Gophers. It wouldn’t be much of a shock to see Minnesota roll up close to a 2-to-1 rebounding edge in the game—the Gophers are the best offensive rebounding team in the country, and UCLA is one of the worst in the nation when it comes to allowing offensive rebounds. Minnesota could easily score 50 points in the paint against the Bruins. Oh, and then there’s this: UCLA’s outstanding freshman guard Jordan Adams, who averaged 15.3 points during the regular season, broke his foot in the Pac-12 Tournament and is done for the year.

Best potential team matchup:No. 3 Florida vs. No. 2 Georgetown, Sweet 16. Sure, it was a long time ago, but we saw a preview of this potentially great matchup on a boat in early November. The Navy-Marine Classic on the USS Bataan was called at halftime because of moisture on the court, with Florida leading 27-23. There’s just a little more at stake this time around for these two excellent teams.

Best potential player-v-player matchup: Trey Burke, Michigan vs. Nate Wolters, South Dakota State. There’s nothing “potential” about this matchup, an opening-game showdown that could wind up being the best PG-vs.-PG meeting of the entire tournament. Burke will land on every single first-team All-America squad this season; what’s he’s done as the leader, primary scorer and facilitator of the Michigan offense has been nothing short of amazing. And then there’s Wolters, everybody’s favorite underdog point guard. He’s capable of everyone-climb-on-my back games, and not just in mundane environments. New Mexico, which wound up with a 3 seed, lost only one game at home the entire season—to the Jackrabbits, when Wolters scored 28 points and had seven rebounds in a stunning win at The Pit in Albuquerque.

Get to know:North Carolina’s P.J. Hairston. When Hairston landed in the starting lineup, the Tar Heels became a legitimately dangerous team for the first time all season. He’s the shooter-without-a-conscience who seems built for the March stage—with a heavily bandaged hand (stitches from a cut), Hairston scored 28 points in the ACC Tournament championship game against Miami. He’s not afraid to attack the rim, he loves banging around in the post and he relishes the challenge of defending bigger players. Those are good characteristics for an outstanding 3-point shooter.

The pick:Georgetown. This bracket is full of high seeds with a tendency to turn in clunkers from time to time—Kansas lost to TCU and was blown out by Baylor, Florida has been mediocre, at best, away from Gainesville and Michigan lost at Penn State. It’s not hard to see the pressure of the NCAA Tournament bringing out those less-than-desirable tendencies at some point over the past two weeks. And, yes, Georgetown has the loss to South Florida on its resume, but the Hoyas were going through a transitional phase and have won 13 of 15 since then, with only losses at Villanova and against Syracuse in the Big East Tournament. Plus, Otto Porter is a star.

The darkhorse:VCU. The Rams’ most troublesome matchup might just be their second game of the first weekend—Michigan and its excellent point guard, Trey Burke. If they survive that game, it’s not hard to imagine that havoc defense causing all sorts of problems for a potential Sweet 16 foe in Kansas and then whichever team comes out of the bottom half of the bracket.